Cultivating New Employment Opportunities in Northeast India

Posted by Peggy Carswell

on Nov 24, 2014

Support from The Rotary Club of Strathcona Sunrise and District 5020 will help launch a new initiative about to get underway in Assam, India.

Rotary will assist with the development of an organic demonstration garden and training program at a rural college in one of the state’s main agricultural districts. The initiative will provide opportunities for students, as well as farmers from nearby villages, to develop practical skills in compost-making, seed saving and chemical-free farming practices.

Income from the sale of organic vegetables and inputs such as compost and compost “teas” produced at the demonstration garden will provide farmers with good quality soil amendments and help cover a portion of the project’s operating costs.

It will also offer opportunities for students to develop important entrepreneurial and marketing skills.

Mrs. Ruprekha Bordoloi, the Principal at Assam’s Kakojan College hopes the project may also help establish links between students who’ll be taking part in the project and students and young farmers from Canada’s west coast.

While support for local food production and sustainable farming practices is growing in Canada, an increasing number of young people are leaving rural Assam to search for jobs in urban areas. Principal Bordoloi hopes the program at Kakojan College will help create new employment opportunities for young people living in the Jorhat area.

Rtn. Peggy Carswell will travel to Assam at the end of December, and will be involved in planning and implementation of the project. For more information, or to find out about opportunities to get involved with the program at Kakojan College, contact Peggy at 250 337-8348 or at kkpc@telus.net.